Connecting Collecting - Sveriges Museer
Connecting Collecting - Sveriges Museer Connecting Collecting - Sveriges Museer
The Cultural Encounters GroupIt is time for diversity in Sweden. Cultural encounters and migrationare highly topical issues in society, and hence for museums too.The Cultural Encounters Group focuses on how the cultural encountersperspective is applied in the practical work.Updating SwedenBy Leif Magnussoncontemporary perspectives on»The situation analysis publishedby the National Council for CulturalAffairs in 2005 shows that museumsin general have both the readinessand the ambition to work with the diversityissue. In the appendix to the analysisit is noted that the museums tackle thistask in a great variety of ways. The focuscan be on the position of national minorities,on cultural phenomena connectedwith immigration or its consequences.International contacts also seem to beincreasing as a result of European integrationor via the interest in nationalmuseum collections around the world.On the other hand, it is more unusualthat museums in their exhibitions reflecton the fact that cultural encountersare a natural ingredient in all cultures, orthat the museums consider how the collectionsexemplify this.Similar ideas can be found in myarticle on “Immigration, Cultural Encounters,Ethnicity” in Samtiden somkulturarv. Svenska museers samtidsdokumentation1975–2000. (2006). Themuseums that were working with theissue then mainly focused on a kind ofmonographic perspective intended tosingle out ethnic groups and immigrantgroups. This tendency to search for distinctionshas been criticized, and thereis a constant quest for more dynamicmodels. This is very important, since oursociety has to balance the pressure ofglobalization, both the positive and thenegative consequences. If increased mobilityfor people, knowledge, and moneyis allowed to represent the good side ofglobalization, there is a bad side thatclearly involves the social and culturalissues.A harsher social climateWhat does this negative side consist of?If we look at our neighbours Denmarkand Norway, we see that the politicalmap has been redrawn in order topreserve the national community whenthe global pressure has squeezed thestrength out of the national power structures.One effect of this is that pressureincreases on the definitions of people’sstatus. Who belongs to the nationalcommunity? When can one join, andhow? Individuals are far too simply andlightly assigned to ethnic categories,which risks creating second-class citizensin the Nordic societies. The problemalso exists in Sweden, but here it ishandled differently because – comparedto our Nordic neighbours – we havereacted more weakly to the counterreactionthat globalization creates in anynation state. However, in Sweden thereis no shortage of signs of a harsher socialclimate as regards diversity.Museums that work with the presentday as cultural history are dependenton the prevailing climate of politicalopinion. When we in the Cultural EncountersGroup write in our action programmethat our work has a clear orientationto cultural policy, through theoutlook that “documenting the presentat Swedish museums is about seeingcultural encounters and migration as anindissoluble part of Sweden’s culturalhistory and social life”, we see the workin a broader context. That is our point ofdeparture.More than ethnicityThe cultural encounter perspective as atheoretical point of departure has beendiscussed since the group was foundedin 1993. The discussion has been livelyand has had the result that the group’sprogramme has been revised severaltimes. Museums which have taken partin the work over the years have had differentpurposes and goals for their participation.There has been a willingnessto bring in issues that have the emphasison other power factors than ethnicitywhen it comes to describing migrationand links to origin and place. Power factorssuch as gender, generation, sexuality,and class are always considered automaticallywhen studies are performed.It is easy enough to write this, but it isa tricky task, requiring competent andwell-trained staff. The ongoing discussionin the Cultural Encounters Group isintended to test and identify research inthe field of International Migration andEthnic Relations (IMER), post-colonialism,and the museological discussion6 • Samtid & museer no 2/07
The Cultural Encounters GroupFrom projects carried out by the MulticulturalCentre, Botkyrka.Photo Andrzej Markiewicz ©MulticulturalCentre.cultural encountersof integration and cultural heritage. Inconcrete terms, this means that researchersare invited to the group, where eachmeeting includes reading and discussionof texts. The group has also startedan international exchange of experiencewith museums and organizations workingwith cultural encounter issues, andin autumn 2006 we had a study trip toGlasgow to meet colleagues.Theme and networkIn recent years the Cultural EncountersGroup has worked with the theme of“Rites and Places of Death in MulticulturalSweden”. A special network was establishedaround the theme, coordinatedby the Multicultural Centre. The workwas carried on for several years, withseminars in different parts of Sweden. Inaddition, Samdok held a method coursegeared to the theme. The network consistedof the Cultural Encounters Groupand interested parties from museums,universities, and others concerned withthe issue. Apart from the seminars therewere some small-scale studies undertakenat different museums and a majorexhibition by the Multicultural Centre,And Then? – An Exhibition about Death.The network and its work have also beenpresented in a theme issue of Samtid &museer.The Cultural Encounters Group alsocarries on a continuous dialogue withother Samdok pools about cultural encounters.Each member of the CulturalEncounters Group acts as contact personfor a pool. Originally this mostlyinvolved highlighting cultural encounterissues and getting these into the actionprogrammes of the pools. This task hasbeen accomplished, but the step of findingfields of study, formulating importantquestions and seeking relevance inthe work of the pools is a constant itemon the agenda.When the Cultural EncountersGroup was formed, an active stancewas taken to ensure that issues concerningimmigration (there was no talk ofintegration in 1993) should affect everysphere of society, every place and individual.This was an important aim whichwas ahead of the way people thoughtat the time. In 1997 the governmentintroduced similar goals in the integrationpolicy that we know today. In otherwords, Samdok and the museums werethinking ahead of their time then – butwhat is the situation today?Updating on all frontsThe call to “Update Sweden” means thatSwedishness can appear in many differentways. The challenge for those ofus who work with the present day is toinclude and establish a contemporarySwedish self-understanding in a cultural-historyparadigm. It is a matter ofbuilding on the Swedish cultural heritage– both material and non-material. It isa matter of returning to collections withnew questions and perspectives. It is amatter of connecting the present withthe past so that new Swedes have an opportunityto understand the oddities andtraditions that have constituted Swedishness.It is a matter of writing newpages in the unfinished biography of thenational project that is Sweden. It is amatter of not dismissing the boundarycrossingand hybrid social and culturaleveryday life in which people live. Thiswork requires a cultural encounter perspectivewhich can capture pictures oftoday’s complexity. Finally, we mustcontinue to document the present inmuseums. This is the method that linksdifferent eras with the collections. It isgratifying that we have more museumstoday that are interested in these issues,and this is a sign that augurs well for theissues themselves and for Samdok. pLeif Magnusson is director of the MulticulturalCentre and former chair of the CulturalEncounters Groupleif.magnusson@mkc.botkyrka.seReferenceMagnusson, Leif. “Invandring, kulturmöten,etnicititet.” In: Silvén, Eva & Gudmundsson,Magnus, eds. Samtiden som kulturarv: Svenskamuseers samtidsdokumentation 1975–2000.Stockholm: Nordiska Museet 2006. / Thepresent day as cultural heritage: Contemporarydocumentation by Swedish museums1975–2000.Samtid & museer no 2/07 • 7
- Page 1 and 2: S A M D O K • S V E N S K A K U L
- Page 3 and 4: Connecting Collecting X 30 years of
- Page 5: Connecting Collecting X 30 years of
- Page 9 and 10: The Pool for Domestic LifeWhat kind
- Page 11 and 12: The Pool for LeisureLeisure = spare
- Page 13 and 14: The Pool for Local and Regional Sph
- Page 15 and 16: The Pool for Management of Natural
- Page 17 and 18: The Pool for Manufacture and Servic
- Page 19 and 20: The Pool for Society and Politicsin
- Page 21 and 22: The Pool for Sami Lifemuseum, Sámi
- Page 23 and 24: i Photo Ramón Maldonado, Stockholm
The Cultural Encounters GroupFrom projects carried out by the MulticulturalCentre, Botkyrka.Photo Andrzej Markiewicz ©MulticulturalCentre.cultural encountersof integration and cultural heritage. Inconcrete terms, this means that researchersare invited to the group, where eachmeeting includes reading and discussionof texts. The group has also startedan international exchange of experiencewith museums and organizations workingwith cultural encounter issues, andin autumn 2006 we had a study trip toGlasgow to meet colleagues.Theme and networkIn recent years the Cultural EncountersGroup has worked with the theme of“Rites and Places of Death in MulticulturalSweden”. A special network was establishedaround the theme, coordinatedby the Multicultural Centre. The workwas carried on for several years, withseminars in different parts of Sweden. Inaddition, Samdok held a method coursegeared to the theme. The network consistedof the Cultural Encounters Groupand interested parties from museums,universities, and others concerned withthe issue. Apart from the seminars therewere some small-scale studies undertakenat different museums and a majorexhibition by the Multicultural Centre,And Then? – An Exhibition about Death.The network and its work have also beenpresented in a theme issue of Samtid &museer.The Cultural Encounters Group alsocarries on a continuous dialogue withother Samdok pools about cultural encounters.Each member of the CulturalEncounters Group acts as contact personfor a pool. Originally this mostlyinvolved highlighting cultural encounterissues and getting these into the actionprogrammes of the pools. This task hasbeen accomplished, but the step of findingfields of study, formulating importantquestions and seeking relevance inthe work of the pools is a constant itemon the agenda.When the Cultural EncountersGroup was formed, an active stancewas taken to ensure that issues concerningimmigration (there was no talk ofintegration in 1993) should affect everysphere of society, every place and individual.This was an important aim whichwas ahead of the way people thoughtat the time. In 1997 the governmentintroduced similar goals in the integrationpolicy that we know today. In otherwords, Samdok and the museums werethinking ahead of their time then – butwhat is the situation today?Updating on all frontsThe call to “Update Sweden” means thatSwedishness can appear in many differentways. The challenge for those ofus who work with the present day is toinclude and establish a contemporarySwedish self-understanding in a cultural-historyparadigm. It is a matter ofbuilding on the Swedish cultural heritage– both material and non-material. It isa matter of returning to collections withnew questions and perspectives. It is amatter of connecting the present withthe past so that new Swedes have an opportunityto understand the oddities andtraditions that have constituted Swedishness.It is a matter of writing newpages in the unfinished biography of thenational project that is Sweden. It is amatter of not dismissing the boundarycrossingand hybrid social and culturaleveryday life in which people live. Thiswork requires a cultural encounter perspectivewhich can capture pictures oftoday’s complexity. Finally, we mustcontinue to document the present inmuseums. This is the method that linksdifferent eras with the collections. It isgratifying that we have more museumstoday that are interested in these issues,and this is a sign that augurs well for theissues themselves and for Samdok. pLeif Magnusson is director of the MulticulturalCentre and former chair of the CulturalEncounters Groupleif.magnusson@mkc.botkyrka.seReferenceMagnusson, Leif. “Invandring, kulturmöten,etnicititet.” In: Silvén, Eva & Gudmundsson,Magnus, eds. Samtiden som kulturarv: Svenskamuseers samtidsdokumentation 1975–2000.Stockholm: Nordiska Museet 2006. / Thepresent day as cultural heritage: Contemporarydocumentation by Swedish museums1975–2000.Samtid & museer no 2/07 • 7
Change language